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Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Vatican
City, 11 July 2012
(VIS) - The Islamic-Catholic Liaison Committee held an extraordinary
meeting in Rome on 10 July 2012, corresponding to Shaban 20, 1433.
The meeting was presided over for the Catholic side by His Eminence
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue and for the Muslim side by H.E. Prof. Dr.
Hamid bin Ahmad Al-Rifaie, president of the International Islamic
Forum for Dialogue.

The
participants exchanged views about the relations between Christians
and Muslim in the current situation of the world. In order to
continue their deliberations and in the continuity of the dialogue
existing since 1995, the two parties agreed to hold the next meeting
of the Committee in Rome, in the first week of July 2013,
corresponding to the first week of Shaban 1434, for two full working
days. Eight participants from each side will participate in the
meeting, which will have the theme "Believers in front of
Materialism and Secularism",

-
Appointed Bishop Marek Jedraszewski as archbishop of Lodz (area
5,200, population 1,502,000, Catholics 1,421,500, priests 767,
religious 778), Poland. Formerly auxiliary bishop of Poznan, Poland,
he succeeds Archbishop Wladyslaw Ziolek, whose resignation from the
pastoral care of the archdiocese of Lodz the Holy Father accepted,
upon having reached the age limit.

-
Appointed Fr. Elias Gonsalves, director of Social Work of the
archdiocese of Bombay, as bishop of the diocese of Amravati (area
46,447, population 10,634,000, Catholics 5,622, priests 32, religious
230), India. The bishop-elect was born in Chulne of the Vasai diocese
in 1961 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1990. He has a
bachelor's degree in history and economics from Bombay University and
a diploma in social development and community building from the Coady
Institute in Nova Scotia, Canada. He has served as pastor of several
parishes. The diocese of Amravati has been vacant since 11 November
2010, when Bishop Daniel Lourdes was appointed to the diocese of
Nashik, India.

-
Appointed Msgr. Philip Anthony Egan of the clergy of the diocese of
Shrewsbury, as bishop of Portsmouth (area 6,339, population
2,524,000, Catholics 192,000, priests 189, permanent deacons 43,
religious 363), England. The bishop-elect was born in Altrincham in
the diocese of Chester in 1955 and was ordained to the priesthood in
1984. After graduate studies in theology at Boston College in the
United States, he served as professor of fundamental theology and
academic dean at St. Mary's College, Oscott in Birmingham, England.
In 2008 he became pastor of Our Lady and St. Christopher in Stockport
and, in 2010, vicar general of the diocese of Shrewsbury. He succeeds
Bishop Crispian Hollis, whose resignation from the pastoral care of
the diocese of Portsmouth the Holy Father accepted, upon having
reached the age limit.